Peacock To Air MLB Games On Sunday

[Wingack]

View: https://twitter.com/BizballMaury/status/1511808202991497218?s=20&t=GdRsxbnVrmk_0UqJAogMnw


View: https://twitter.com/BizballMaury/status/1511810955067330562?s=20&t=GdRsxbnVrmk_0UqJAogMnw


Between AppleTV on Friday nights and Peacock on Sundays, MLB really going all in on streaming.

 

[GB5]

So the honor of the Red Sox having the only morning game every year, on Patriots Day, is now gone..

 

[Ale Xander]

Is this free Peacock or Peacock plus?

 

[Red(s)HawksFan]

Is this free Peacock or Peacock plus?

Tweet says "exclusively on Peacock premium service." That implies it ain't free.

 

[Manramsclan]

Somehow MLB managed to alienate cable subscribers, MLBTV subscribers and cord cutters.

Truly a remarkable feat.

The idea that this is putting the game in front of new audiences is ridiculous. If it were amazon prime or Hulu, I would still hate it, but from a business perspective it would make some sense. Who has Peacock premium? If I am a cable subscriber, now I also have to subscribe to Peacock premium even though I pay through the nose to get those extra sports channels? I paid for MLBTV for only a portion of the games?

I think this is a huge misstep, especially on the weekends. Fox baseball was annoying and occasionally you would miss games due to the local affiliates selection based on geography but now people are going to miss a Sunday game because they have to pay for a subscription service? Lame.

 

[Murderer's Crow]

I almost made a post saying “I can’t understand how the MLB thinks this will grow the sport.” And then I realized they just want to cash that NBC check.

Making games less accessible to people is one of the biggest blunders of this move to streaming. Some dummy in the MLB is thinking “well everyone watches Netflix so why can’t they watch games!” Just brutal if you ask me and worthy of making a fuss over.

Luckily, if you’re a platinum card holder, peacock is one of the services you can use for a $20/mo credit.

 

[cromulence]

Also, if you have Comcast, you have Peacock Premium for free. Of course, I don't, so this sucks. Putting games on streaming services to grow the sport is actually a good idea, but the combination of making them exclusive and behind a paywall is absolutely idiotic. If you're going to do that, then you need to also make them available on MLB.tv for the diehards, because we're already out here paying to stream MLB games.

 

[Van Everyman]

So the honor of the Red Sox having the only morning game every year, on Patriots Day, is now gone..

I love the Patriots Day game but this is like NH voters bemoaning being the first primary.

Instead, let's ramp up the outrage at not being able to see these games for free.

 

[Red(s)HawksFan]

Also, if you have Comcast, you have Peacock Premium for free. Of course, I don't, so this sucks. Putting games on streaming services to grow the sport is actually a good idea, but the combination of making them exclusive and behind a paywall is absolutely idiotic. If you're going to do that, then you need to also make them available on MLB.tv for the diehards, because we're already out here paying to stream MLB games.

Exactly. Don't take the broadcast away from the local outlets either. Losing a NESN (or whatever the local RSN is) game to Fox or ESPN is one thing, since if you have NESN you should have the other two already. But losing it to a streaming service that you have to pay extra for, assuming you even have streaming capabilities in the first place, is alienating your current fanbase in pursuit of new fans. It's dumb.

 

[canderson]

Also, if you have Comcast, you have Peacock Premium for free. Of course, I don't, so this sucks. Putting games on streaming services to grow the sport is actually a good idea, but the combination of making them exclusive and behind a paywall is absolutely idiotic. If you're going to do that, then you need to also make them available on MLB.tv for the diehards, because we're already out here paying to stream MLB games.

This is on my for TV customers fwiw. If you’re internet only (meeeeee) no such luck.

 

[Sad Sam Jones]

Great, the one time a national broadcaster doesn't completely ignore Cleveland… there are three Guardians games I'd normally watch and now can't. At least they're hosting teams from different time zones in all three, so maybe there can at least be an advantage in the 11:30 start time. In fact, it appears there are only 5 games where both teams play in the eastern time zone.

 

[sibpin]

Yes, this definitely seems like a move to get new viewers at the expense of diehards. MLB will get great advertising space on streaming service selection screens to get the eyeballs of uninvested viewers to watch their games for free. This is the national games strategy of the past, the modern-day equivalent to ESPN Sunday Night Baseball and a paid Fox Game of the Week that leads to those networks airing commercials for baseball all week long.

Apple has already been advertising MLB in a premium spot next to the Best Picture winner:



If you're annoyed about not being able to watch 1 out of 162 games or 18 out of 2,430... you are not the people MLB needs to grow the game, and they will happily ignore your gripes about shrinkflation (just like ice cream and cereal makers do). You are, however, the people that Comcast needs to grow Peacock, especially if you've got the disposable income to pay for NESN/cable or MLB.TV.

 

[jon abbey]

Yeah, this has zero to do with 'growing the game' or getting new fans, it is all about MLB taking the money and streaming services trying to get more paying customers. I find it hard to believe that anyone is going to stumble onto MLB for the first time because it is on Peacock and become a fan after that, NBC wants people who are already baseball fans to sign up so they don't miss any of their team's games.

 

[cornwalls@6]

Yeah, this seems like a short sighted move, and the dumbest way to make use of streaming. Sox fans aren’t being denied a game because of the NBC simulcast, but I’d be pissed if I were a fan of any of the other teams/games. Especially a Sunday game, which I particularly enjoy digging in on. They remain clueless as far as how to market and grow their product.

 

[Petagine in a Bottle]

A cash grab for MLB and nothing else. I don’t think this moves the needle much for NBC at all; sure they will get some people in to sample the service but even the most diehard baseball fan is going to be skeptical about ponying up for a relatively mediocre slate of games that are in the morning on sundays in the summer. Meh.

But this is the game now. For anyone who ever complained about cable, now you need a bunch of different services to get less than you had before.

 

[the1andonly3003]

so who will be the Peacock announcers? Will they roll out Ahmed Fareed? Will they cross promote EPL-WWE-MLB on Peacock?

 

[LogansDad]

We are going to need a dedicated thread just so people can figure out what service provider has the games people want to watch.

 

[B H Kim]

So the honor of the Red Sox having the only morning game every year, on Patriots Day, is now gone..

It’s been gone for a while. The Nationals have been playing morning games on July 4 for ten years now.

 

[lars10]

Yeah, this has zero to do with 'growing the game' or getting new fans, it is all about MLB taking the money and streaming services trying to get more paying customers. I find it hard to believe that anyone is going to stumble onto MLB for the first time because it is on Peacock and become a fan after that, NBC wants people who are already baseball fans to sign up so they don't miss any of their team's games.

especially because of how bad Peacock's service is. They've been taking the best EPL games and have been putting them no Peacock and it is regularly an awful viewing experience. Why they would want to put their best EPL games on an inferior product is beyond me...and now their Sunday games when it would seem they would have the bulk share of potential viewers.

 

[Lose Remerswaal]

Why?

Cash money.

goal is to put all product on premium services and hope the technology keeps up. And hope the fans continue to pay up..